BFAR Davao enlists 46,000 fishers

Subscribe Now November 03, 2015 at 09:28am

The Davao regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) already registered a total of 46,209 fishermen in the region under the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration (FishR) as of Monday, data obtained from the agency bared.

Of the figure, 30,263 are males and 15,946 are female.

Fatima Idris, BFAR Davao director, told Sun.Star Davao that the figure continues to grow, an indication of the active involvement of fisherfolks in pursuit of inclusive growth in the fisheries sector.
The program, which was launched in 2013, aims to promote "simplified and standardized registration system that would help local government units (LGUs) comply with the requirement of Republic Act 10654 or the newly-amended 8550, or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines."

At present, FISHR data are being used as the government's basis in providing insurance benefits to municipal fisherfolk.

The benefits include health care and personal and crop insurance coverage of various interventions the government targets for the municipal fisheries sector.

Fisheries Code of the Philippines mandates that the "development of a registry of municipal fisherfolk for the purpose of identifying priorities among them, managing the municipal waters, monitoring fishing activities and other related purposes.

FishR is open to all workers in the fisheries sector to include municipal fishermen, fish vendors, fish farmers and all other workers in allied industries.

At present, Agriculture secretary Proceso J. Alcala said that the program is near completion of its target. The agency already recorded 1.6 fisherfolks nationwide.